Korea has announced a US$5bn bilateral financial assistance package for Africa after the conclusion of the Ministerial Roundtable of the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Conference during AfDB’s 53rd Annual Meetings
The Ministerial Roundtable gathered a peer group of African ministers of finance who also serve as the AfDB board of governors to discuss topical issues and a pan-African approach to engagement with Korea.
Taking place under the theme “Africa and the 4th Industrial Revolution: Opportunities for leapfrogging?,” the Ministerial Conference highlighted the need for long-term planning for industrial development and execution of projects, as well as a focus on value addition in sectors where Africa has a comparative advantage for example in agriculture and natural resources.
The US$5bn financial assistance package will be delivered over two years through partnerships with various development agencies, including but not limited to the AfDB Group. The package leverages resources from various Korean bilateral agencies and platforms, including the Knowledge Sharing Program, the Economic Development Cooperation Fund, Korea Import-Export Bank, among others.
Specifically, Akinwumi Adesina, president of AfDB, and Dong Yeon Kim, deputy prime minister of Korea, signed three cooperation agreements for the implementation of certain components of the US$5bn package by the Bank Group.
The first was the extension of the general cooperation agreement which allowed for the replenishment of the KOAFEC Trust Fund housed at the AfDB with US$18mn. The Trust Fund, now totalling US$93mn, will continue to provide critical capacity building grants and resources for project feasibility studies. An Action Plan of 20 KOAFEC projects were endorsed during the Conference for 2019-2020 destined for a diverse group of countries and sectors.
